Men plead guilty in connection to 2025 murder

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) - Three men charged in connection with the 2025 murder of a Pike County man have reached plea agreements with prosecutors following felony mediation.

Michael Brown, Anthony Browning, and Michael Shortridge were arrested in January 2025, each charged with murder after Kentucky State Police troopers found Christopher Lester shot dead in the Steele community.

Pike County Commonwealth’s Attorney Bill Slone said, following more than one year of court hearings and conferences, the men recently met for mediation to discuss a solution to avoid a trial.

“The potential in this case was 20 to 50 years or life,” Slone said.

Slone said the mediation was informative and resulted in the decision to amend charges for the men.

Brown is now the only defendant charged with murder. He is also charged with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. He entered a guilty plea with the Commonwealth recommending he serve 25 years for the murder and 10 years for the possession charge, which would run concurrent for a total of 25 years. If sentenced, he would be eligible for parole after serving 20 years.

Browning’s murder charge was amended and he pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence. Slone said Browning was found in possession of one of the guns used in the murder, but prosecutors could not prove he possessed it at the time of the shooting.

“He was not a shooter. And, from what we learned, we agreed to amend his charges,” Slone said.

The Commonwealth recommended a five-year sentence for Browning, with the possibility of parole after serving 20% of his time.

Shortridge’s charges were also amended following mediation. He is now charged with hindering prosecution instead of murder.

“He did admit to firing a shot. We believe it was under duress, and we believe that the victim had already passed at the time he fired the shot,” Slone said. “He told two or three stories, initially, that kind of hindered the prosecution. Hindered us from getting to the right person in a quicker manner.”

Shortridge has not yet entered his plea to the court.

All three men are expected to appear in court in April. Shortridge is scheduled for a pretrial conference April 1. Brown and Browning are both scheduled for sentencing April 23.

Slone said he is glad the case is being resolved with the involvement and support of Lester’s family.

“Nothing’s gonna bring him back. But, you know, I like to satisfy them. I like for them to think that they’ve had their day in court, and they got a just sentence,” Slone said.